Bucket-hook for hoisting and conveying apparatus



(No Model.) 7

A. E. BROWN.

BUCKET HOOK FDR HOISTING AND CONVEYING APPARATUS. No. 311,285. Paten-teg Jan. 27; 1%85.

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ALEXANDER E. BROWN, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

BUCKET-HOOK FOR HOISTING AND CONVEYlNG APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 311,285, dated January 27, 1885.

Application filed December 5, 1884. (No model.)

To (LZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER E. BROWN, of Cleveland, in the county of Ouyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bucket-Hooks for Hoisting and Conveying Apparatus; andI do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this application.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in that kind of hooks which are usually employed in hoisting and conveying machinery for taking hold of the handle or bail of and lifting the heavy metallic buckets usually employed in handling coal, ores, &c.

Previous to my invention a great source of danger and inconvenience has arisen from the liability of such buckets to become detached from the hook of the lifting apparatus by the striking and retardation of the bucket while descending, (by coming into contact with some part of the vessel or car or other obstructiom) the continued descent of the hook, whenever the bucket may cease its descent for an instant, operating to effect the disengagement of the hook from the bail or handle of the bucket.

I am well aware that snaffle and other hooks have been made with guards or safety-catches to prevent accidental uncoupling from the ob ject with which they have been designed to engage; but all the contrivances heretofore made, so far as I know, have been wholly inapplicable for the purposes for which my improvement or invention is designed, mainly because in the manipulation of the hooks used in hoisting apparatus it is important and necessary that the operative shall be able to very rapidly disengage the hook from a descended empty bucket and couple it to the filled bucket to be immediately drawn up, and, furthermore, on account of the liability of the hook being lifted while the hand of the operative may be in the vicinity of the hook and the bail of the bucket. Any safety device which necessitates the presence of the hand of the operative in this vicinity is exceedingly dangerous, on account of the liability of catching the hand of the operative while attempting to operate any such safety-guards as have been heretofore employed.

I propose by my invention to provide for use a hook of such construction provided with a safety catch or look so combined and arranged with said hook that while accidental disengagement of the hoisting-hook from the bail'of a bucket will be effectually avoided, both the releasenient of the bail of the empty bucket from the hoisting-hook and the engagement of the latter with the bail of a full bucket may be accomplished with the same rapidity of action as in the case of the use of ordinary hooks without safety devices, and at the same time without any possible danger of accident or injury to the person manipulating the contrivance.

To this main end and object my invention may be said to consist in the employment, in connection with a hoisting-hook, of an automatic safety device or look adapted to close up the hook-opening immediately above the locality of the bucket-handle or other object grasped by the hook,and provided with mailpiece or hand-piece arranged in rear of the hook, and so combined with the rearward hand-piece of the hook itself that by embracing the said hand-piece of the hook and the said hand-piece of the safety device within the grasp of his hand the operative can at the same time manipulate the hook and its safety device as may be required without having to place his hand anywhere near that portion of the hook which engages the bail or handle of the bucket, all as will be hereinafter more fully explained.

To enable those skilled in the art to which my invention relates to make and use the same,

I will now proceed to more fully describe my improved contrivancc, referring by letters to the accompanying drawings, which form part ofthis specification, and in whichl have shown my invention carried out in those forms in which I have so far successfully practiced it.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side view or elevation of the contrivancc. Fig. 2 is a similar View, with the safety device shown in sec tion. At Figs. 3 and 4 are shown, respectively in front elevation and in side sectional view, a modification of my invention in which the shape of the safety device and the mode of combining the same with the book are somewhat different from what is shown at Figs. 1 and 2.

In the several figures the same parts will be found designated by the same letters of refer-" Referring now particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, A represents a hook such as usually employed on hoisting. and conveying machines, pivotally attached at its upper end or eye by means of a pin, 0, to the bifurcated shank B of any sort of hoisting-machine apparatus, while orepresents aportion of the bail or handle of an ordinary dumping-bucket or other receptacle, such as used in connection with hoisting and conveying machinery. The hook A is formed with a rearward loop-like hand piece or portion, I, which is designed to be grasped by the miner or operative for the purpose of handling the hook when it is necessary to disengage it from the bail of an empty bucket and re-engage it with the handle of a full one.

I F is a spring safety device, arranged preferably to vibrate about a pivotal connection, 6, formed between its upper end and the stand or ear-pieces D of the eyebolt O, by means of which the hook A is connected to the shank B. This swinging device F is provided with a spring, 9, secured to itat one end, as seen at Fig. 2, and pressing at the other end against the forward part of the shank of the hook A .in such a manner as to create a constant tend- 'ency to keep the swinging device F in the position seen at Fig. 1, in which position it prevents the disengagement from the hook A of the handle or bail c.

As clearly shown, the safety device F is either formed or provided with a hand piece or portion, f, which, as shown, is hollowed out behind or made in a sort of semi-tubular form in cross-section, so that when saidportion f shall be swung backwardly into the position illustrated by dotted lines at Fig. 2 it will partially surround the hand portion I of the hook.

The operation of the contrivance so far de-. scribed will be understood to be about as follows: Supposing it to be necessary to disengage the hook A from the handle 0 of the bucket, the operative will simply grasp in his hand the hand-piece I of the hook and the handpiece f of the safety device, and by contract-ing his grasp on these parts draws them together,

or into the position illustrated in dotted lines at Fig. 2, whereby the safety device F will be moved from over the handle 0 and the throat of the hook A become unobstructed, so as to per- ,mit the free escape or disengagement of the hanand f in the relative positions indicated at Fig. 2 by dotted lines, for'if he should release his grasp on the hand-piece f while guiding the hook (by means of his hold on I during its ascent) the bail 0 would of course be forced past the forward edge of F, which, yielding to the pressure of the bail 0, would move backward on its pivotal connection e, and would then, by virtue of the spring be returned to its normal position, as shown at Fig. 1. It will be seen with such a contrivance the operative can perfectly control the movements and operations of both the hook and its safety device for all the necessary purposes without ever changing his hold of the contrivance, and without ever putting his hand anywhere near the hook portion proper of the apparatus. At the same time the contrivance is such that it is practically impossible for the bail c of the bucket to become disengaged from the hook Afrom any of the accidental causes which have heretofore led to serious accidents and inconvenience.

In the modification of my invention shown at Figs. 3 and 4 the safety device F instead of being formed hollow or shell-like and arranged so as to partially surround or embrace both theshank portion and the rear handpiece, I, of the hook, is made fiat or platelike and solid, and is arranged centrally of the plane of the hook proper,while the latter has its shank and hand portion I slotted out, so that the hand portion f 2 and part of the body of the safety device F work or play within the slotted-out portion of A and I, the spring being arranged within the slotted-out portion of the hook device proper, all as clearly seen at Fig. 4, and so as to produce the same mode of operation in the safety device as has just been explained of the safety device shown at Figs. 1 and 2. Of course other modifications may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I have contemplated a construction and arrangement of safety device formed or provided with a rear hand-piece, such as f, in which the safety device, instead of being pivotally attached to the rest of the contrivance, as shown, would be arranged to slide bodily in the proper direction to accomplish the same ends as are gained by the swinging safety de- I vice which I have shown in the drawings. I do not therefore wish to be understood as limiting my claim of invention to the exact forms of the devices herein shown and described but, c

Having so'explained the nature of my invention that any one skilled in the art can make and use the same, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

too

The combination,with an ordinary hook, A,

provided with a rear loop-like device or handpiece, I, of a safety device formed or provided with a rearward hand portion, f, or its equivalent, and arranged and operating as described, to be moved into the proper position In testimony whereof I have hereunto set to permit the disengagement of the device enmy hand and sealthis 21st day of November, gagecl with the hook whenever the hand-piece 1884.

I and the device f are to be grasped by the ALEXANDER E. BROWN. [L s.] 5 operative, and shall automatically close up the In presence of throat of the hook whenever the last-named E. T. SooVILL,

devices shall be released by the operative. GOTTLIEB GEUDER. 

